Womens World Cup Coverage by Fox is Huge!!

By Robin BussSaturday June 6, 2015

The Women’s World Cup was first played in 1991 and was hosted by China where USA beat Norway 2-1. The 2015 tournament hosted by Canada is the seventh in the series which has been won by four nations: 2 - US (’91&’99), Germany (’03&’07) and once each by Norway (’95) current holders, Japan in 2011.

Fox will this year significantly increase the coverage of the tournament by covering all 52 games live in English. US games will also air on Sirius Satellite Radio with the radio feed coming directly from the TV. At the same time NBC / Telemundo will cover all games in Spanish.

The top two teams from reach Group will progress to the knockout round of 16, at which point the tournament is bracketed.

Broadcast Schedule
All 52 games will air live on TV in English and Spanish. Fox Sports will air 16 (!) games on the Fox Network while the remaining games will be shown on Fox Sports 1 & Fox Sports 2. Telemundo plans to air ten (10) games while NBC Universo will show 21, while the rest will be streamed on NBC Deportes' En Vivo Extra. The Hispanic outlets will clearly be tracking Mexico as well as Colombia and Ecuador.

All games will be available on tablets and mobile devices via the Fox Sports Go app and online at FoxSportsGO.com. All games will be live streamed at FoxSoccer2Go.com/.

The threesome of JP Dellacamera, Cat Whitehill & Tony DiCicco look to be the group with the most experience of commentating on women’s international soccer.

Finally
Don’t expect FIFA’s Sepp Blatter to show up and make the Cup and medal presentation at the end of the tournament! [top]

MLS Cup Final #19 Has Plenty Of Interest

By Robin BussSaturday December 13, 2014

Sunday’s 19th MLS Cup Final between Los Angeles and New England is shaping up to be more than just your "usual" game (ESPN 3pm ET).

It will be Landon Donovan’s final MLS game as he is retiring. Arguably the best US born soccer player, Donovan is Major League Soccer’s career leader in goals scored (144), assists (136), post-season goals (25), and is tied for first in MLS Cup titles with five.

Bruce Arena, the Galaxy coach, will be making his sixth MLS Cup Final appearance of which he has won four (two more than any other coach) and lost one, including two wins with DC Utd and two wins and a loss with Los Angeles.

Galaxy’s Robbie Keane is MLS’s 2014 MVP – an award won by Landon Donovan in 2009. Keane was Galaxy’s top scorer in 2014 with 20, the same number as New England’s top scorer, Lee Nguyen.

The referee for the game is Mark Geiger, Pro Referees referee of the year. In addition to a full schedule of MLS games, Geiger refereed three World Cup games in Brazil this year progressing further in the tournament than any other US referee.

Los Angeles will be making a record ninth appearance in MLS Cup 19 and will be looking for their fifth win. New England will also be making a record fifth appearance in the final (second only to LA), however, they will be seeking their first win after four defeats, including two defeats by Galaxy.

Taylor Twellman led the New England Revolution during the team’s four MLS Cup appearances in six years (2002, 2005, 2006 and 2007), while Alexi Lalas played for the Galaxy from 2001-2003, and returned as the team’s president and general manager from 2006-2008. [top]

World Cup History From 1930 - 2010

By Robin BussSaturday July 12, 2014

The World Cup has been played for 19 times prior to this year, and has been won by eight nations – three from South America and five from Europe: Brazil (5), Italy (4) Germany / West Germany (3), Argentina, Uruguay (2) England, Spain, France (1).

Countries, Populations, Managers and Nicknames

By Robin BussFriday July 11, 2014

Big is better does not necessarily apply to how good a country is at soccer or whether that country qualifies for the World Cup. The world’s three biggest countries (China, India & USA) have a decidedly spotty World Cup qualification record: India has never qualified, China once in (2002) and although the US has qualified for nine of the 19 final tournaments, overall results have been disappointing (one quarter final).

Pre-World Cup Games Coming To The States

By Robin BussSaturday May 31, 2014

It’s World Cup time and the place most teams will come to play their warm-up games is right here in the USA. Fifteen Brazil-bound teams will be heading to these shores for a last 90-minute kick around before the games kick off for the month-long tournament on June 12. Including the USA, that means 16 teams, or 50% of teams in the tournament, will be showcasing their skills before an American audience all around the country: New Jersey, St Louis, Texas, Washington DC, Florida, Chicago, Philadelphia, Maryland & Boston.

World Cup champions Spain will be playing El Salvador at FedEx Field in Landover MD on June 9. Sponsors will be looking for a crowd in excess of 60,000.

Most, if not all of the games will be on TV – bein Sports, ESPN, Fox and Univision.